It's Mother's Day, and in honour of the occasion, I'm going to list a few mothers in fictional works who are inspirational characters: Mrs. Jumbo: Disney's classic 1941 movie about Dumbo, the big-eared elephant, featured a touching relationship between him and his mother, Mrs. Jumbo. Is there anyone who doesn't get misty-eyed when he goes to visit her after she's been incarcerated for protecting him from being abused? Sniff. Mrs. Miniver: In the 1942 film, 'Mrs. Miniver', the title character is raising her family during the Blitz in England. Dealing with the dangers and stresses of life during WW II, Mrs. Miniver sets an example of strength, bravery, and patriotism for her children. Marta Hanson: "I Remember Mama" is a 1944 play which was made into a movie a few years later. Marta, or "Mama" is the calm center of her sometimes fractious extended family, instilling the values of hard work, education, and self-sacrifice in her children through personal example. Mrs. March: I'm currently participating in a read-along of "Little Women" over at The Edge of the Precipice , and in the novel, Mrs. March is a great influence in her daughters' lives. For much of the book, her husband is away at war, and she is left to raise their daughters on her own. She patiently dispenses wisdom and instruction to her girls, and teaches them such values as charity and honesty by modeling these things herself. And, busy as she is, she also finds time to provide a motherly influence for the boy next door. Marilla Cuthbert: In "Anne of Green Gables", Marilla Cuthbert and her brother Matthew adopt Anne Shirley from an orphanage. Though a bit starchy and stiff -especially at first- Marilla provides what the neglected young girl needs in her life. Not just the physical necessities like food and clothes, but also stability, security, and the chance for an education. She is also the sense to Anne's sensibility, not squelching her imaginative, dramatic personality, but teaching her to have self-control over it. Most importantly, Marilla provides Anne with love... not overly demonstrative or verbally expressed, but real and unshakable. Marilla Cuthbert, though not biologically related to Anne, is her mother in every way that really counts. * These are, of course, just a few admirable mothers to be found in movies and/or books. There are many more in fiction and, more importantly, in real life. So, if you are a mom, or have one... Happy Mother's Day!
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"Look at anyone's bookcase at home, no matter how modest, and you're going to find a book that contains wisdom or ideas or a language that's at least a thousand years old. And the idea that humans have created a mechanism to time travel, to hurl ideas into the future, it sort of bookends. Books are a time machine." - Jonathan Nolan "Jeeves," I said.
"Sir?" said Jeeves. He had been clearing away the breakfast things, but at the sound of the young master's voice cheesed it courteously. "You were absolutely right about the weather. It is a juicy morning." "Decidedly, sir." "Spring and all that." "Yes, sir." "In the spring, Jeeves, a livelier iris gleams upon the burnished dove." "So I have been informed, sir." "Right ho! Then bring me my whangee, my yellowest shoes, and the old green Homburg. I'm going into the Park to do pastoral dances." - P.G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Springtime This is pretty much how I'm feeling today... the weather has finally warmed up, the last patches of snow disappeared from my yard yesterday, and floral sprouts are starting to poke out of the thawing ground. I don't own a whangee, yellow shoes, or a Homburg, and I'm going to work, not the park. But I shall be doing pastoral dances- inwardly, since doing them in reality might excite negative comment. Spring is here! "The Cactus" is a cautionary tale which demonstrates the negative effects which hubris and complacency can have on a relationship. The protagonist, Trysdale, displays these characteristics; a privileged and over-confident young man, he has always taken the regard and admiration of his peers for granted. This complacent assumption also extends to- especially extends to- the young woman whom he has been courting. He never has to work for her good opinion... she has always looked up to him and adored him. When he does not understand her response to his proposal, he is too proud to ask her for an explanation. As they drift apart, he waits for her to come to him to explain. He has never had to exert himself for her, and it doesn't occur to him to do so now, even to win her back. He remains self-deluded by his ego even as she becomes engaged to marry someone else. Subconsciously, he assumes that she still loves him until, at the wedding, he sees the look which she gives her fiance: full of the warmth and admiration which was once reserved for him. It is then that truly sees himself for the first time: "He saw all the garbs of pretense and egoism that he had worn now turn to rags of folly." What "The Cactus" also makes clear is the deleterious effect which a lie- even a small one- can have on a relationship. Trysdale allows his girlfriend to believe something about him that isn't true without attempting to correct her assumption, because it makes him appear in a good light. It is a lie of omission, but still a lie, and it has unexpected and- for Trysdale- disastrous consequences. Just a little too late, he learns the cost of selfishness and egoism coupled with dishonesty. He could still have had the woman he loved, if only he had loved himself a little less. Related Posts: "The Cactus" is a short story written by that master of the form, O. Henry. And the story is short indeed: it takes place over the course of a few minutes in a man's life. But, as Henry says, "The most notable thing about Time is that it is so purely relative." The man in question is named Trysdale, and he has just returned home from a wedding, accompanied by his friend, who coincidentally is the brother of the bride. As his friend pours himself a drink and keeps up a steady stream of idle chatter, Trysdale slowly removes his gloves, while his gaze is drawn to a small potted cactus sitting on his table. As he stares at it, his mind is drifts back to the wedding, and it becomes obvious that the girl that he loves has just married someone else. Worse, it was obvious from her radiant expression that she was truly in love with the man she was marrying. This is a terrible blow, not only to Trysdale's feelings, but to his conceit as well. Previously, she had always regarded him with admiration, idolizing him. He had never had reason to doubt her regard, and asks himself what went wrong... they had never quarreled or anything, and yet he lost her. This causes his thoughts to turn back even further, to an episode in their courtship, when she received the mistaken impression that Trysdale was fluent in Spanish. He isn't, but she was so admiring of his intelligence and abilities that he didn't correct this errant belief, basking in her praise. She is so ardent in her admiration for him that, when he proposes, he really is in no doubt that she will accept. When she coyly tells him that she will send him her answer, he awaits with confidence her positive response. Trysdale is therefore confused when her groom arrives at his door with a potted cactus from her. There is no message- just a tag on the pot giving the botanical name of the variety of cactus. When they meet a couple days later, Trysdale is too proud to ask her what the gift of the cactus meant, waiting for her to come to him and explain. She, in her turn, looks at him hopefully and with expectation, until he only makes polite conversation, and she becomes cool towards him. They gradually drift apart, and the result is the wedding which he has just come from, where he has permanently lost her. At this point, Trysdale once again becomes aware of his friend, who has just noticed the cactus sitting on the table. As he has spent time in South America, he recognizes the variety, and asks Trysdale where he got it. Trysdale evasively says he was given it by a friend, and asks him if he knows what it's called. His friend says sure- here's the name on the tag in Spanish: "Ventomarme", which in English means, "Come and take me"... Oops. Related Posts: |
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